Germany apparently disagrees with French President Macron, who earlier this week advocated for a NATO without the United States. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against undermining NATO. Without the United States, Germany and Europe cannot sufficiently secure themselves, they said. However, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer broadly agrees with Macron.
The German politicians responded to the critical words of French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with The Economist, in which he called NATO “brain dead.” According to Macron, there is a lack of coordination between member states, preventing intervention when necessary. He criticized that the United States acts independently without consulting the Europeans.
Maas and Merkel do support Macron’s call to strengthen European defense, but as part of NATO, not instead of it. German Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) is on the same page as the French president. She especially wants to demonstrate that German defense policy needs revising. AKK is both chairwoman of the CDU and Germany’s defense minister.
Promotion
Since World War II, Germany has largely remained on the sidelines of NATO. But AKK wants to bring German defense more clearly to the forefront. Earlier this year, she succeeded Ursula von der Leyen, who became president of the European Commission. Among other things, AKK wants to establish a national security council. She also believes her country should allocate more funds for defense.
So far, her plans have been met with little enthusiasm domestically. Critics argue that such a significant shift in course should be reserved for the chancellor. However, Merkel and AKK apparently do not share the same view. AKK wants Germany to play a more active role at the national and global security level. Therefore, she wants to use Germany’s EU presidency in the second half of 2020 to strengthen the European arm within NATO.
The German minister now also calls for the establishment of a European Security Council, which should include the United Kingdom regardless of the outcome of a possible departure from the European Union. That a top German politician and party leader now openly advocates for German defense policy playing a prominent role in Europe makes clear that Berlin is considering a new, independent German position in these debates.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer thus appears to position herself on defense as an ally of Macron, apart from Merkel. More than a year ago, AKK was promoted by Merkel as the new party chairwoman and thereby also as the prospective future chancellor. But over the past year, her popularity has rapidly declined. Even within her own party, calls to replace Kramp-Karrenbauer are growing louder. The likelihood that she will succeed Merkel as chancellor is steadily diminishing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has assured the United States that her country will continue to support international crisis management. She assured U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Berlin that Germany wants to maintain an active role in resolving international conflicts. She cited the conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and Ukraine as examples.